by Amar Toor on April 11, 2011 at 10:20 AM
![Julian Assange Says WikiLeaks Is More Accountable Than Most Governments, Gets a Little Sassy About It](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/04/jassange_180x129.jpg)
Julian Assange thinks WikiLeaks is more accountable than any democratic government in the world. And if you dare say otherwise, you'll probably get sued.
That was essentially the message that Assange conveyed over the weekend, during his first public appearance since being arrested in December, amid accusations of rape and sexual assault. Speaking to an audience at a public debate in London, ...
by Amar Toor on April 5, 2011 at 01:40 PM
![Manning Used Data-Mining Software to Obtain Documents, Army Claims](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/04/bmanning_180x129.jpg)
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, the man suspected of supplying WikiLeaks with thousands of confidential military documents, used unauthorized data-mining software to obtain the information, according to the Army.
The Army alleges that Manning installed the software on computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRN), which is believed to be the source of the 250,000 ...
by Amar Toor on April 4, 2011 at 09:35 AM
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/04/pornwikileaks_180x129.jpg)
The adult film industry is up in arms over 'Porn WikiLeaks' -- a new site offering the real names, birth dates and other private information belonging to more than 15,000 adult actors and actresses.
As Gawker reported last week, Porn WikiLeaks obtained this information from a patient database at an STD testing clinic in California. In addition to the porn stars' real names, the leaked ...
by Amar Toor on March 22, 2011 at 09:15 AM
![Julian Assange as Couch Surfer](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/03/julianhouseguest_180x129.jpg)
The notoriously nomadic Julian Assange has never sought refuge on our couches, but if he ever did, we wouldn't be terribly surprised if he acted the way he does in this clip, which is allegedly based on an "absolutely true story." Directed and written by Allison Silverman (the former head writer of 'The Colbert Report'), the short features David Rees in a Warhol-esque wig, playing the ...
by Amar Toor on March 16, 2011 at 10:30 AM
![Julian Assange Says WikiLeaks Helped Shape Middle East Protests](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/03/assange_180x129.jpg)
During a speech at Cambridge University yesterday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange suggested that his whistleblowing organization played a significant role in the recent protests across the Middle East and North Africa.
According to Assange, WikiLeaks' diplomatic cables may have convinced Middle Eastern leaders that they wouldn't be able to rely on U.S. assistance if military forces were to ...
by Amar Toor on March 14, 2011 at 09:20 AM
![Anonymous Leaks Bank of America E-Mails, Alleges](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/03/anonymousbofa_180x129.jpg)
Early this morning, Anonymous released a collection of internal e-mails sent between employees at Bank of America, in an attempt to expose what the group calls widespread "corruption and fraud."
The e-mails, allegedly obtained from a former bank employee, document discussions among workers at Balboa Insurance, a Bank of America subsidiary that offers mortgage and car insurance to banks and home ...
by Leila Brillson on March 3, 2011 at 11:20 AM
![DreamWorks Snatches WikiLeaks Book for Julian Assange](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/03/vibr_180x129.jpg)
The era has come wherein movie makers are no longer content exploring shared cultural events, or mining moments in history for inspiration. Instead, they have started turning to stories that, in many ways, haven't even been finished. The award-winning film 'The Social Network' is about a website that we continue to use daily, and one that still occupies our headlines. And now DreamWorks, the ...
by Amar Toor on March 3, 2011 at 10:40 AM
![Army Files 22 New Charges Against Alleged Whistleblower Bradley Manning](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/03/manning_180x129.jpg)
The U.S. Army has filed 22 new charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning, the former intelligence analyst who's already been accused of handing over thousands of classified military documents to WikiLeaks.
Among the new allegations, the most serious is a charge of aiding the enemy -- a capital offense. Though the Army says it won't seek the death penalty against Manning, the 22-year old could face ...
by Amar Toor on March 1, 2011 at 11:20 AM
![WikiLeaks and the Internet Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/03/julian2-1298995053_180x129.jpg)
The list of nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize includes plenty of individuals and organizations that probably deserve the award, along with two curious candidates that will almost certainly hog all of the media's attention: WikiLeaks and the Internet.
This year's field features a whopping 241 nominees, breaking the record of 237 set just last year. Notable candidates include former ...
by Amar Toor on February 24, 2011 at 09:52 AM
![Julian Assange Loses Extradition Case, Plans to Appeal](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2010/12/assange-1292953421_180x129.jpg)
A British judge has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must be extradited to Sweden to be questioned on accusations of sexual abuse. The decision, which was issued this morning in London, means that the Australian national will be sent to Sweden in ten days, although his lawyers have already indicated that they plan to file an appeal.
In the ruling, Judge Howard Riddle determined that ...
by Terrence O'Brien on February 14, 2011 at 04:20 PM
![Leaked E-Mails Reveal Efforts to Discredit WikiLeaks](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/02/anonymoussuit_180x129.jpg)
Some enemies of WikiLeaks are not afraid to play dirty. Pro-WikiLeaks hackers (but not the organization itself) gained access to internal e-mails from HBGary Federal, a California-based security company that was allegedly offering to help companies like Bank of America (the rumored target of the next WikiLeaks dump) discredit the organization through falsified documents. One of the e-mails hackers ...
by Amar Toor on February 11, 2011 at 04:50 PM
![How Aaron Barr Infiltrated Anonymous, and Why He Decided to Do It](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/02/aaronbarr_180x129.jpg)
Ars Technica's Nate Anderson has put together a long and fascinating report on the tumultuous recent history of Aaron Barr -- the security expert who successfully infiltrated Anonymous, and then got burned, after running to the FBI with his findings.
Based on e-mails he sent before beginning his mission, it's clear that Barr's motives, from the very beginning, were profit-driven. A social media ...
by Amar Toor on February 3, 2011 at 10:30 AM
![Anonymous Attacks Government Websites in Egypt](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/02/anonymoustweet_180x129.jpg)
The Web may be up and running in Egypt, but Anonymous clearly hasn't forgotten the Egyptian government's unprecedented shutdown of the Internet. The group of free speech 'hacktivists' is now claiming credit for taking down the websites of the Egyptian Ministry of Information and the National Democratic Party, which is currently in power. Anonymous confirmed the attacks in a message posted to its ...
by Terrence O'Brien on February 2, 2011 at 02:00 PM
![WikiLeaks Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2010/11/wikileakslogo_180x129.jpg)
It almost feels that WikiLeaks' nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize was inevitable. The site's focus on transparency and exposing corruption and human rights abuse, as well as its knack for stirring up controversy, seems tailored to draw the attention of the Nobel Prize Committee. After announcing that WikiLeaks had been nominated, Snorre Valen, a member of the Norwegian parliament, called the site ...
by Amar Toor on January 31, 2011 at 08:35 AM
![Julian Assange Defends WikiLeaks, Manning and Free Press on](https://web.archive.org/web/20110519154259im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.switched.com/media/2011/01/assange60mins_180x129.jpg)
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Last night, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sat down for a rare, extended interview with Steve Kroft of '60 Minutes.' In what CBS has called Assange's "most extensive television interview to date," the Australian national defended his organization's mission, discussed the roots of his own anti-authoritarian philosophy, and compared WikiLeaks' core principles to "those of the U.S. ...